Greece In Arrears As It Fails To Make IMF Payment

The deadline for Greece to make a €1.5bn to the International Monetary Fund has formally expired and the country is now in arrears on its international loan.

The country is now teetering on the brink of default.

"I confirm that the SDR 1.2 billion repayment due by Greece to the IMF today has not been received," IMF spokesman Gerry Rice said.

"We have informed our Executive Board that Greece is now in arrears and can only receive IMF financing once the arrears are cleared."

Greece is the first developed country to miss a payment to the IMF in the organisation's 71-year history.

Eurozone finance ministers also rejected a last-minute appeal for an extension of Greece's existing bailout agreement, which expired late on Tuesday evening

Talks will resume later to discuss a new two-year financial aid plan proposed by Greece, which includes a request for debt restructuring.

But Dutch finance minister Jeroen Dijsselbloem said it would have to be accompanied by a shift in the Greek government's political stance.

"An extension of the old programme simply isn't possible," Mr Dijsselbloem warned.

Thousands of people rallied in Athens before the IMF deadline passed in support of a deal with international creditors.

At least 20,000 people, many waving European and Greek flags, gathered in front of parliament in Syntagma square five days before a referendum on whether or not to accept a new bailout.

A No vote could see Greece leave the eurozone.

A Yes vote, against the urging of the Greek Prime Minister, could force Mr Tsipras and members of his government to resign.

"I think Mr Tsipras screwed up the negotiations, frankly," Miranda Xafa of the Centre for International Governance Innovation told Sky News.

"Because he believed that Europe needs Greece as much as Greece needs Europe, and that is sadly not the case."

"So now I believe he's in a state of panic because the banks have closed, people are complaining, they were queuing for hours over the weekend to get their cash out."

Greek banks have been closed and cash machine withdrawals restricted to €60 a day to prevent the banking system collapsing.

Speaking in Syntagama Square at the pro-euro rally, academic George Serfiotis explained: "The feeling is that we are awfully worried about what's going to happen ..."

"We know that the credit line will be cut completely and we're really pessimistic about how the banks are going to operate from now on."

Athens has received nearly €240bn in two bailouts from the European Union and International Monetary Fund since 2010, but the Greek people have been forced to accept cuts to pensions, wages and public services.